public d i s p l a y s of affection
by cherrySUNSETx
Summary: amor est vitae essentia — love is the essence of life · nejiten


**A/N**: One-shot! (: This time, though, instead of Kakuzu and Hidan, we have a different pairing. Neji and Tenten… x3 Eh, also, I have a Zaku x Kin thing I want to post, but… I'm not sure. It's kind of heavy, with cutting in it, but I dunno. I may put it up. I love Kinny (: & One last thing. I wrote this on February fourth. xD

**Disclaimer**: No. I do not own Naruto. Not even a tiny little part of it, like, a tree. Ugh.

**Warnings**: Uhm. PDA ? And it's set pre-shippuuden.

**Pairings**: Neji and Tenten! :DD

**Check out**: Dane Cook, if you don't know who he is already. He makes me laugh. I'm a brain ninja. (:

--

"Are you tired already, Tenten?" The voice was silky smooth, slightly concerned, but overall taunting and arrogant as it cut through the air to her, not unlike it's owner. "I'll admit, I'm surprised you couldn't go on longer," He provoked again, leaving his Byakugan on, however, honestly believing she could be a threat from the right angle. His colorless eyes swept the terrain until he found her and chuckled in his deep voice, focusing himself on her. "I see you, little mouse."

Cursing to herself, she flipped backwards from where she was and leaped high into the surrounding trees, from branch to branch while pulling out a long, large scroll and biting her thumb. She swiped the blood over the scroll and was immediately greeted with her large supply of weapons. Aiming with intent only to win, not to wound or kill her teammate, Tenten began throwing and launching various kunai and shuriken wildly in his direction until she was out of them, forcing her to watch as he battered off the last few.

He had been struck by two kunai and shuriken each, none in too vital a place, causing her to smile. So she hadn't won -- she'd at least done better than before, and no one was hurt. "You win, Neji-kun," she told him only slightly hotly, touching her feet to the ground beside him as he grunted and quickly pulled out her weapons, both ninja careful not to tread on the many pointy objects that littered the ground from her final assault.

"You've gotten better though, Tenten." He answered in return, tenderly touching a bleeding spot on his arm from where one shuriken had grazed through, cutting the cloth and his skin, and had continued on to lodge itself in at tree. Eager to help, Tenten dug in her little shinobi pouch to pull out a roll of thick, white gauze. As a weapons master, she was cut herself quite a bit, so it had become routine for her to carry medical supplies like that with her, "Are you alright, Neji-kun?" She asked kindly as she stepped over the metal pieces on the ground, to reach him. Proud as ever, the Hyuuga nodded his head, and took the wrapping from Tenten, closing his lavender eyes for a moment.

Not surprised by his rejection of her silent offer to help, Tenten bent down to pick up her weapons, a few of them to busy herself, before releasing her summon and watching as her arsenal disappeared, back into her summoning scrolls and she scanned over the ground to pick up the remaining ones, storing them before looking up at her teammate who had finished bandaging his arm and stopped other bleeding. Tenten had been the one training here, Neji had just agreed to be her opponent, it was mainly for her aiming, and since she had been on offense, she hadn't received any injuries.

He tossed the remainder of the white gauze back to the girl, who caught them and placed them back where they came from. "I wonder how Lee-kun is doing with Gai-sensei…?" Tenten asked, tipping her head slightly during her inquiry, looking up at Neji who shrugged.

"You know them, they're probably off screaming about youth or something…" He told her, closing his eyes to de-activate the Byakugan. Tenten chuckled to herself, turning to face the trees around her until she picked out the path to Konoha, and turned to the Hyuuga.

"Should we go back, Neji-kun?" She asked, nodding slightly as if to encourage him to agree with her. The boy turned and nodded his head, as well.

"There's not much else we can really do here, my chakra's nearly gone… so we might as well."

Gladdened by his approval, she straightened and self-consciously swiped at a strand of hair that had come loose from one of her double buns, her chocolate gaze sweeping the perimeter before making a low sound and leaping forward to her chosen path, arms streaming behind her, as Neji turned slightly surprised by her sudden disappearance. He followed her anyways, and quickly caught up, matching his pace to hers. But she pushed herself, always trying to be better, and she bit her teeth together hard as she forced herself to move faster, land lighter, and to push off harder. Her breath came in quicker gasps as she tried and failed to find a steady air pattern, and all this was unknown and unseen to the prodigy on her side, who didn't have to exert as much to change the way he flew through the treetops, an emotionless expression on his face while he ran, continuously matching each new speed she threw out, still unaware of how she was trying to be superior, trying her hardest to beat him at a game he hadn't quite known he was playing.

But fate is fickle, and as fate would have it, when Tenten's feet collided with the next branch in front of her, the amount of force she had been using caused a loud, cracking 'snap' to echo through the surrounding forest, along with the sudden thunk of a kunai as Neji swiftly pulled one out and plunged it deep into the next tree, stopping himself, skidding slightly on the branch's bark, using this trick because he knew if he'd tried to just stop he would have slid and fallen himself. His hand stung a little from the impact, but it worked, and he turned himself around on the thin limb that was threatening to break and send him down as well.

Tenten was fine, though, as a kunzite. She had managed to grip onto another branch during her fall, and gritted her teeth together as she waited for a moment, to make sure this branch wouldn't collapse on her. After a few seconds o f nothing but Neji's intense, expressionless gaze on her, she dug her fingernails into the bark and hoisted herself up, clapping her palms together, holding them for a moment against the cloth of her pants, as they were red and slightly sore from grabbing so needily, and hanging with bark prodding her toughened skin, it still wasn't all that comfortable. "Mm…ff…"She grunted as she pulled out a splinter, turning to her teammate while dropping it. "Sorry 'bout that."

The Hyuuga boy's eyes only closed for a brief moment as he twisted his body and pulled out his kunai, one of the three that he had. He placed it back where it belonged before beckoning her forward. "Just don't go it again, okay, Tenten?" His voice was laced with a cold warmth that he had begun to use towards her; still as emotionless and blank as ever until it came to her name, then he allowed a small bit of his care for her to show, and she realized this with a gentle blush, nodding her head.

"Sorry, Neji-kun." She apologized again before a smile flitted across his features and he turned, running again through the trees back to Konoha, and Tenten blinked before she accelerated, leaping again, being careful this time as she followed him.

As the two reached Konoha, Neji still in front, though Tenten was only a second or so behind him, they both took a moment to scan around them until Tenten voiced an opinion. "I'm kind of hungry." She trailed off, feeling greedy, since she was the one suggest it, but he turned slightly to face her, his colorless eyes thoughtful for a small fraction of time before he nodded.

"Alright. Bento?" Neji questioned, tipping his head slightly, sick of ramen and the entire idea of it. Satisfied, Tenten nodded. She was just as sick from the many bowls she'd been eating lately, and bento would a welcome relief from it.

"With octopus," she murmured quietly, smiling.

Neji's look was surprised, but he agreed anyways. "Octopus it is then, Tenten."

As they reached the Bento shop, and Neji purchased two boxes -- one with extra octopus, one without -- Tenten stayed behind him, her eyes focused on the scenery, and how it seemed every couple in her village was out and holding hands, as if to mock her and her failed love life. But it had been her choice, focusing her life on becoming a superb ninja, and showing the men that kunoichi were just as good as them. And to become as great in her skills as what her idol, Tsunade-sama, was. Still, she couldn't help but wish sometimes, and wonder if it could be so bad to put her dreams on hold for a short, few weeks… It wouldn't be that horrible, as long as there was someone else there.

"Tenten," Neji repeated, his brows going from arched to creased in worry. She wasn't paying attention to him… she never drifted like this. "Tenten-chan!"

Rarely did he use honorifics if he wasn't addressing someone with '-sama', or '-san', if his Uncle so directed, so this shocked both ninjas, because although Neji had known he was going to do it, to her get to focus, the affectionate name falling from his lips was… uncomfortably comfortable.

She blinked, turning to look at him with her head tipped in question, eyes a bit wide, as he held the bento box out for her. "You weren't paying attention." He said smoothly, as though the last five seconds had never happened, and she took it from him, smiling.

"Sorry, I was just thinking." Tenten swiftly opened her box and cleanly split the chopsticks, picking up a piece of the octopus and taking it delicately into her mouth, chewing thoughtfully. This stirred an interest in the young male, but he only took a seat in the chair facing the window of a small table in the corner. The kunzite slid into the chair across from him, eating her bento, a thoughtful look still crossing her face. Neji watched her carefully, opening his own box, and snapping his own chopsticks a little asymmetrically, still debating on whether or not to ask.

"What were you thinking about, Tenten?" He questioned finally, before placing a piece of his sushi into his mouth, chewing it slowly.

Blinking, a little surprised that he would care and bring it up, Tenten paused in bringing her chopsticks to her lips, and as she let her wrist turn, the piece of octopus slipped, falling back into the box. "What was I thinking?" She repeated airily, biting her lip. "I was thinking about Tsunade-sama and how I wanted to as great of a kunoichi as she is," She answered quietly, leaving out the rest of her thoughts as she looked back up at him, shrugging her shoulders.

"I don't believe you." Neji answered after a brief moment of consideration, one of his cocky smirks tugging at his lips. "I mean, maybe you were thinking about that, but there's got to be something else… you had a sort of… 'far away' look on your face. You were trying to decide something." He finished casually as he could, half his bento gone now as he leaned against his chair, arching a brow expectantly, knowing he was right by the way she closed her eyes for a moment… just a moment.

"You're right. There was more, but it was pointless, so it doesn't matter," She answered slowly, after a small period of thought, shrugging her shoulders, turning back to her nearly-empty box, trying to avoid further discussion that would lead to her admittance of the affection she felt for him.

"If it was pointless, Tenten, I hardly doubt you'd've had the look on your face that you did." He observed quietly, his lavender eyes resting on the table, only saying this to make her think; he wasn't trying to force her into talking about it, especially if she didn't want to. As he finished his small snack, he looked up to see Tenten finished with hers as well, playing with her chopsticks idly, like she really was deep in thought. "Are you done?" He asked after watching her for another moment, causing her to look up and blink at him before she nodded. "C'mon, then." He told her, standing up and pushing his chair in as she did the same, both grabbing their boxes to deposit them in the nearby garbage can.

"Thank you, Neji-kun," Tenten murmured as they stepped outside, a happy yawn stretching from her lips. After rubbing her eyes, she blinked a few times, warning the sleep away. "Man… I feel like such a cat." She commented after she stretched her arms over her head lazily. "Or Shikamaru-kun, perhaps."

Neji didn't acknowledge this as he turned, sliding his hands into his pockets, wondering what now. He wasn't very good at this socializing, not even with his teammates. Sighing softly, he turned to look at Tenten, who was looking around herself, again, training her eyes on each of the couples that passed by, laughing and smiling, and all touching -- holding hands or hugging or kissing.

"Ne…ji…?" She asked after another smiling couple walked past them. The Hyuuga turned towards her direction, curiosity shining through his gaze. A low 'hmm?' sound came from him, and the lightest of a blush scribbled across her cheeks. "I wasn't sure if you were paying attention… you seemed kind of… zoned out."

But he wasn't paying attention now, his gaze was on the ground, and he was subtly biting his lip.

"Neji-kun?" She tried again, stepping closer to him, genuinely worried. Sure, he was silent, but he was never stony quiet like this. He didn't usually completely ignore her, either. His hands slipped out of his pockets and he looked down at them for a moment as Tenten's voice reached his ears, and he could easily detect what he was looking for in it, the way she said his name so carefully. He was right, not unlike his earlier guesses. The care in her tone was obvious to him now, but what should he do about it? He wasn't one to show affection, or at least, not public displays of it. Neji didn't hold hands or hug or kiss or anything like that with others around.

He never had. He didn't think he ever would.

"You're worrying me…" she said softly, as she stepped closer, hesitantly reaching out. She wasn't one to show true affection, not the little things that would make any difference in a relationship. Tenten would hug Lee, but she would never hold hands or kiss or caress with others around.

She never had. She didn't think she ever would.

Again, she whispered his name, closing the gap, her hand on top of his, his palm up, hers down. Her fingernails ran lightly over his skin before he rose his gaze, letting her chocolate brown eyes lock with his solid lavender ones. "Tenten…" He whispered back before they both adjusted their hands, lacing their fingers together almost hesitantly. And he found, surprisingly, that for a tomboy, her hands were rather soft, and she found, surprisingly, that as cold as he acted, his hands were rather warm.

Tenten had initiated this.

But Neji hadn't pulled away.


End file.
